Car-door guide and guard.



M. L. CUTTER.

CAR DOOR GUIDE AND GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, 1910.

Patented N0v.29, 1910.

niarrnp series PATENT canton.

MICHAEL L. COTTER, OF SOMERVILLE, IJIASSACHUSETTS.

CAR-DOOR GUIDE AND GUARD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mrcrnxnn L. Corrnn, a citizen of the'United States,residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Guides and Guards; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description or the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to attachments for freight cars, and has for oneof its objects 'to provide a simply constructed device whereby the loweredge of a freight car door is guided in its movements upon its track,and likewise effectually protected from being opened surreptitiously.

.Vith this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described andthen specificially pointed out in the claim; and, in the drawingsillustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is aside elevation of a portion of a freight car and one of its doors withthe improvement applied. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1,Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail illustrating the construction ofthe improved device more fully, Fig. 4: is a perspective view of theimproved attachment disconnected.

The improved device may be attached to any of the various constructionsof freight cars wherein the sliding doors are mounted to slide upon atrack at the upper edge and with the lower edge swinging free to alimited extent, and to provide an effectual guide for the lower edge ofthe door, and likewise to prevent the door from being moved outwardly atthe bottom when in closed position, is the principal object of thepresent invention, and in the drawings is shown applied to aconventional freight car, the body portion ofwhich is shown at 10, theroof portion at 11, one of the doors at 12, and a portion of one of theupper guide tracks at 13, the door being mounted to slide upon the trackby suitable. hanger brackets 14 of the usual construction.

The door is arranged to fit over the usual doorway opening which isindicated at 15 and with its lower edge projecting below the upper lineof the floor of the car, a portion of which is indicated at 16. Thesheathing of the car is indicated at 17 and a portion Specification ofLetters Yatent.

Application filed February 3, 1910.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

Serial No. 541,848.

of one of the sill members at 18, to illustrate the application of theimproved device more fully.

Much annoyance and loss has resulted from the depredations of thievesand other unauthorized persons who have surreptitiously opened the doorsof cars without breaking the seals by removing the guides behind whichthe lower edge of the door is caused to slide, and to provide a simplyconstructed guard by which it will be impossible to remove the doorwhile it is closed is the principal object of the present invention, andthe improved device comprises a plate or body formed with a lowerportion 19 and an upper portion 20, the upper portion being offsetfromthe lower portion as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and t, with the ofifset portionem bedded in the sheathing portion 1'? of the car just below the line ofthe floor 16 and opposite the doorway opening near the side edges of thesame, and with the lower portion 19 bearing against the sheathing belowthe floor line and secured by suitable means such as lag screws 21. Theofiset portion 20 of the body is provided with two or more hollowprojections or bosses 22, preferably cylindrical, and embedded in theportion of the sheathing of the car below the doorway opening. Thestructure of freight cars varies somewhat, but in the drawings thesheathing 17 is shown overlying the sill member 18, which is a commonconstruction, and when the improved device is applied to a car of thisconstruction the projections 22 will be embedded in this overlyingsheathing, as shown, while the lag screws 2125 will pass through thesheathing and into the sill member. Different constructions of cars mayrequire that the projections be embedded in other portions of the carbody, and it is not desired therefore to limit the invention in thisrespect. The projections 22 are provided with apertures in their innerfaces to receive lag screws, one of which is represented at 23, with theheads 24: of the lag screws inclosed in the hollow projections. Thehollow projections thus form seats or cavities to receive the lag screwheads, and to prevent them from being engaged by the door 12 when it ismoved upon its track 13. The plate or body 19 is provided with a lateralprojection 25 which bears against the lower edge of the door 12, andeach portion 25 is provided with an upwardly directed guard plate 26which bears against the outer face of the door. The inner face of themember 26 is preferably curved as shown at 27, to facilitate the passageof the door. Freight car doors of this character are usually providedwith a metal wear strip 28 at the lower edge, and this wear strip itwill be noted contacts with the inner curved face 27 of the portion 26of the device.

By this arrangement an effectual combined guard and guide is provided,which maintains the door in position after it has once been moved intoclosed position, and not only effectually prevents the outward movementof the lower edge of the door, but covers and protects the lag screws QA so that access to the lag screws is impossible so long as the doorremains in closed position. The door 12 is thus firmly secured and supported and surreptitious access to the car effectually prevented.

The projections 22 serve a two-fold purpose, first as an effectual meansfor receiving and protecting the lag screws 2?, and second as anadditional securing means against the removal of the combined guard andguide, as any attempt to displace the guard and guide even if the lagscrews 21 are detached, is effectually prevented by the relatively largeprojections 22 being embed ded within the car structure. The member19-2O and its attachments are constructed in one single casting,preferably malleable iron or steel, and will be of sutficient strengthto resist any strains to which they will be subjected while in use, andlikewise to effectually resist any attempts to remove them to gainsurreptitious access to the car.

It will be noted that the offset 20 together with the projections 22,are wholly embedded within the body of the car, so that no projectionoccurs to obstruct the movement of the door. This embedding of themember 20 also materially increases the strength and resisting qualitiesof the device, as will be obvious.

What is claimed is An attachment for freight cars comprising a brackethaving an upper portion U- shaped in cross-section and including ahorizontal portion and spaced legs extending upward therefrom andarranged to closely embrace the lower edge of a door, a lower portionintegral with the horizontal part of the upper portion and extendingdownward therefrom, said lower portion having one face adapted to engageagainst the sheathing of a car, said lower portion being furthermoreslightly offset from one leg of the upper portion, and spaced bossesprojecting from the outer face of the last mentioned leg, said leg andbosses being adapted to be seated in a recess in the car sheathingconforming to said leg and the bosses thereon, said bosses being eachprovided with openings therethrough to receive a lag screw, the openingsextending through the leg and being provided with enlarged ends toreceive the heads of the lag screw.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

MICHAEL L. COTTER.

Witnesses DAVID H. WALSH, FRED A. MCMERRIMEN.

